Fastball

Phillies Bopper Does Something Only One Player in Baseball History Has Done on Sunday

The Philadelphia Phillies snapped their losing streak on Sunday by beating the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park. In the win, slugger Kyle Schwarber became just the second player in baseball history to accomplish this specific feat.

Brady Farkas

Philadelphia Phillies designated hitter Kyle Schwarber (12) celebrates his home run against the Cleveland Guardians during the third inning at Citizens Bank Park on July 28.
Philadelphia Phillies designated hitter Kyle Schwarber (12) celebrates his home run against the Cleveland Guardians during the third inning at Citizens Bank Park on July 28. / Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
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The Philadelphia Phillies halted their late July, early-August skid on Sunday afternoon by beating the Seattle the Mariners, 6-0, at T-Mobile Park.

Though the game got out-of-hand late, it was actually just a 1-0 game into the eighth inning after a pitchers duel by Logan Gilbert and Zack Wheeler. The only run scored at that point came on a leadoff home run from Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber, who makes a habit of leading off games in such ways.

In fact, he's done so at a historic clip in his career, according to Sarah Langs of MLB.com:

players with multiple seasons with 10+ leadoff HR:

Kyle Schwarber
Alfonso Soriano

The Phillies have the best record in the National League at 66-45 and part of that is thanks to Schwarber's ability to constantly get them up in games. Though not your prototypical leadoff hitter, he's adapted to the role well. He had 11 leadoff homers in 2023.

This year, he's hitting .251 with 23 total home runs and 64 RBI. He's stolen four bases and is carrying an .850 OPS. The 31-year-old is in his 10th year in the big leagues with the Chicago Cubs, Washington Nationals, Boston Red Sox and Phillies. He signed a lucrative deal with Philly before the 2022 season and has helped them get to the World Series and NLCS in consecutive seasons. He has 269 career home runs and 612 RBI. He helped the Cubs win the 2016 World Series.

The Phillies are back in action on Monday night as they take on the Los Angeles Dodgers in a potential NLCS preview. Aaron Nola (PHI) pitches against Tyler Glasnow (LAD).

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Brady Farkas

BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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